Sealed rechargeable lead acid batteries for use in portable electrical equipment are often manufactured as compact rectangular containers having FASTON tab type terminals on the top surface. The FASTON tab terminals are electrically coupled to a device by sliding mated female connector portions onto the tab terminals. This prior art arrangement usually required handling of the lead wires at the time of installation of the battery, and is thus not a particularly “user friendly” arrangement. Difficulties can be encountered in this type of installation, such as the displacement of the battery causing the connectors to be pulled from the tab terminal. Also, the tab connectors can become distended with repeated use and easily dislodged from the tab terminals.
In another prior art installation arrangement, the battery is slidlingly inserted into a mated compartment having electrical touch which engage with the FASTON tab terminals. A drawback of this arrangement is that the tab terminals can become flattened until they no longer properly aligned with the electrical contacts.
In view of the problems associated with the prior art battery installation arrangements, it would be highly desirable to provide an adapter cap for a sealed battery having FASTON tab terminals which provides a leadless installation arrangement, and thus provides an ease of installation comparable to that of a standard dry cell battery.
Another drawback is seen in the prior art procedure charging of the sealed lead acid battery. Charging the battery is typically accomplished by attaching a pair of alligator clips to the tab terminals. This charging procedure is relatively awkward, as mishandling of the clips can lead to inadvertent contact. The present invention solves this and other prior art problems by providing a adapter cap for a sealed lead acid battery which couples the tab terminals to an integrated charging jack.